Gold Little Changed, Silver Slips 0.9%

Precious metals futures logged declines ranging from less than 0.1% for gold to 1.6% for palladium

Precious metals futures closed lower Wednesday. Gold’s loss, its second in a row, was modest in lightened trading activity as investors pause for breath ahead of Christmas weekend.

Gold for February delivery inched lower by 40 cents to settle at $1,133.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Any pullback in the greenback may trigger a scramble into gold," Reuters quoted HSBC analyst James Steel. "Gold may near $1,100 per ounce but we do not think the market will go below that level. If it does break $1,100 per ounce, we would expect bargain-hunters and price sensitive buyers to increase purchases."

Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,131 to high of $1,138.80. They shed 0.8% on Tuesday after rising 0.5% on Monday.

Silver for March delivery declined 13.8 cents, or 0.9%, to $15.979 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.95 and $16.24. They rose 0.2% on Tuesday after sliding 0.8% on Monday.

In PGM futures on Wednesday:

January platinum fell $9.60, or 1%, to $914.40 an ounce, ranging from $910.10 to $922.50.

Palladium for March delivery declined $10.95, or 1.6%, to $659.90 an ounce, trading between $655.80 and $668.20.

London Precious Metals Prices

In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:

Gold added $7.95, or 0.7%, to $1,133.65 an ounce.

Silver added 23 cents, or 1.5%, to $16.03 an ounce.

LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.

US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016

United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 2:46 p.m. ET. The Mint’s most popular 2016-dated bullion coins have sold out. New 2017-dated issues will go on sale Jan. 9.

Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.